🏠 Family Emergency Plan
Mom & Dad
Large-print version for easy reading on a phone. Built from the family emergency plan so it’s easier to read, tap, and use during a stressful moment.
1. 📋 Critical Info Sheet
Fill this out first. Keep a copy on the fridge, in your phone, with your wife, and with at least one neighbor.
📍 Their Info
- ☐Full address (911-friendly, with county):
- ☐GPS coordinates (for rural areas):
- ☐Nearest hospital + drive time:
- ☐Nearest hospital with a real ER:
👨 Dad
- ☐Date of birth / SSN location:
- ☐Primary doctor + phone:
- ☐Medications + dosages:
- ☐Known conditions:
👩 Mom
- ☐Date of birth / SSN location:
- ☐Primary doctor + phone:
- ☐Endocrinologist / diabetes doctor:
- ☐Medication list, insulin type, dosage, schedule:
- ☐Where insulin/supplies are kept:
- ☐Mobility needs:
- ☐What she can and cannot do alone for 24 hours:
📞 Key Contacts
- ☐Nearest neighbor willing to check in + phone:
- ☐County sheriff non-emergency line:
- ☐Church / community contact:
- ☐Family phone tree:
2. ⚠️ Warning Signs — When to Escalate
🟡 Yellow Flags — Act within days
- Dad is quiet or withdrawn for more than about 2 weeks
- Missed medications or appointments
- House condition slipping or food running low
- Dad losing weight, not sleeping, or needing things repeated more often
- He stops answering calls or answers strangely
Action: Family call the same week. Someone visits within 2 weeks if possible. Mention changes to their doctor.
🔴 Red Flags — Act within 24 hours
- Confusion, slurred speech, or sudden memory gaps
- A fall, chest pain, or injury either one is shrugging off
- Mom’s blood sugar out of control or Dad is unsure about her insulin
- Dad says, “I can’t do this anymore,” or sounds hopeless
Action: Call them immediately. If unreachable, call the neighbor. If still nothing, call the county sheriff for a welfare check.
3. 🚑 If Dad Goes Down
Mom cannot be left alone. Decide these now, in order:
- First 24 hours: Who is physically closest and can get to her fast?
Name: __________________ Drive/flight time: __________________
- First week: Which family member can stay with her or bring her to them?
Name: __________________
- Bridge care: Home health agency that can do short-notice care.
Agency + phone: __________________
- Longer term: If Dad is out for a month or more, what’s the plan?
Decision: __________________
💉 Also decide now: Who takes over Mom’s insulin management on day one, and do they know the routine? If only Dad knows it, fix that this month.
4. 🗂️ Legal & Paperwork
Do this within 60 days. Without this, hospitals and banks can make a crisis much harder.
- ☐Healthcare power of attorney for both
- ☐Financial power of attorney for both
- ☐Living wills / advance directives
- ☐HIPAA release forms at each doctor’s office naming family who may need to help
- ☐Know where the will, insurance policies, deed, and bank information are located
- ☐Location of all paperwork:
Tennessee-specific note: forms are available free, and an elder law attorney can usually handle all of it in one short visit.
5. 🛡️ Reduce the Risk Now
👀 Get eyes on them regularly
- ☐Standing weekly call — same day, same time
- ☐Ask Mom’s doctor about home health visits
- ☐Medical alert buttons for both
- ☐Neighbor arrangement — someone notices if the truck hasn’t moved
🧓 Get Dad relief
- ☐Call Tennessee Area Agency on Aging & Disability: 1-866-836-6678
- ☐Ask about CHOICES if finances qualify
- ☐Schedule Dad a full physical and mention the recent changes
- ☐Plan one real break for him this year
🏡 Practical house prep
- ☐Backup power plan for insulin refrigeration
- ☐2-week supply buffer of medications and insulin
- ☐Winter plan for bad roads
- ☐Post a one-page “Mom’s daily care routine” in the house
6. 💬 The Family Conversation
Have this conversation this year, not “someday.”
- What does year 3 look like if Mom keeps declining?
- At what point do they move closer to family, or family moves help to them?
- What can they afford for paid help, and what can family contribute?
- What does Dad actually want?
Best format: one-on-one, side by side, doing something calm — not an intervention around a table.
7. 🚨 Quick Reference — Crisis Numbers
🚑 Emergency
Call 911
Give GPS coordinates if needed
🏡 Can’t reach them
Neighbor → County Sheriff welfare check
🤝 Caregiver support / respite
TN AAAD: 1-866-836-6678
☠️ Poison / insulin overdose
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
🧠 Dad in mental health crisis
Call or text 988
📘 TennCare CHOICES info
Use the AAAD number above